​Imagine that you're in small room filled with water. You're floating on top of the water. It's dark, and you can't hear anything. Flotation therapy uses sensory depravation to give practitioners a sense of being in a zero-gravity environment so they can hopefully achieve total relaxation. For those who stay constantly plugged into the world, the therapy could provide a proverbial oasis.

After trying the practice in Mexico, Jina and Jason Daniels decided to bring the practice to Jackson.

"We were really intrigued by it," Jason says. Jason, a touring musician who fronts the Jason Daniels Band, says he continued to use floatation to foster his creativity and restore energy.

Originally from California and Arizona, respectively, Jason and Jina made Jackson their home four years ago. They decided to open Jax-Zen Float Studios because of a desire to share the benefits of flotation therapy.

"The stars aligned and the next thing we knew, we were starting a float center," he says.

They haven't had a grand opening yet, instead focusing on a soft opening to test the waters, so to speak, since October. Jason says they chose Midtown because of its creative and artistic environment and central location.

When guests enter Jax-Zen, vibrant colors and pleasant aromas greet them. For the first float, customers do a short orientation. Each therapy session includes a pre-shower and then a 90-minute session.

Jason says part of the formula to making floatation therapy work is the salt-water solution. "It all sounds mystical and magical, but it's really simple," he says. The float tank holds approximately 10 inches of water that is saturated with 850 to 1,000 pounds of Epsom salt. The water's temperature is warmed to the temperature of the surface of human skin. This creates a hospitable anti-gravity environment that is good for mental and physical rest.

"Flotation therapy is a great opportunity to give yourself some personal time and set the world aside for a bit,"Jason Daniels says.

Some of the benefits of floatation therapy include relief of physical stress, fatigue and chronic pain, improved focus and clarity, regulated sleep patterns and creativity boosts. Jax-Zen also offers massages from massage therapist Ben Witt, and guests can journal or make art inside the business' art studio.

<em>Jax-Zen Float Studios offers a membership program for those who want to do flotation therapy regularly. For more information, about the wellness and creativity center (155 Wesley Ave.), call 601.691.1697 or visit jax-zenfloat.com. The business will accept walk-ins, but appointments are highly recommended.</em>